NDSU’s Bohl repeats as FCS coach of the year

December 17, 2013

For the second straight season, North Dakota State football coach Craig Bohl captured the Eddie Robinson Award honoring the Football Championship Subdivision coach of the year.

Bohl becomes the first back-to-back winner in the award's 27-year history. He won his third straight Missouri Valley coach of the year award earlier this month.

Former James Madison coach Mickey Matthews is the only other two-time recipient, winning the award in 1999 and 2008.

Bohl collected 42 first-place votes and 418 points from a national panel of 147 sports information and media relations directors, broadcasters, writers and other dignitaries. Eastern Illinois' Dino Babers, whose team was ranked second to NDSU at the end of the regular season, finished second in the voting with 370 points, while Maine's Jack Cosgrove was third with 260 points. All 13 FCS conferences had at least one coach nominated for the award.

The Bison have won 102 games with 10 winning seasons in the last 11 years under Bohl. NDSU began the year as the preseason No. 1 team and has held on to that ranking throughout the season. The Bison defeated FBS member Kansas State in their season opener and are currently 13-0, two wins shy of their third consecutive national championship.

"We don't have an abundant amount of speed in our geographical area; it doesn't mean we don't have some speed on our football team," Bohl said in a press release. "But we looked at that and said for us to be successful, we're going to have to be a hard-nosed, physical, disciplined team. We're not a lot of bells and whistles, we're not a spread offense, we're not a real flashy defense. We just play physical, disciplined football. So far, it's worked well for us."

Appalachian State from 2005-07 is the only team to accomplish a three-peat.

There will be a new Eddie Robinson Award winner next year as Bohl agreed to become the next coach at the University of Wyoming at the end of the season.